Antioch University New England Kicks off 50th Anniversary Celebration

September 22, 2014 – Antioch University New England (AUNE) turns 50 this year and is planning a celebration that will recognize its past, embrace its mission, reconnect old friends, and leave a new legacy through a community service project. AUNE focuses on the needs of adult learners through mission driven, high quality academic programming at the master’s and doctoral levels. It is the oldest of the five Antioch University campuses and traces its roots back to the Putney School in Vermont, where it was founded in 1964.

“Our students, faculty and staff have been changing the world for 50 years and will be celebrating this over the course of this academic year,” said AUNE President Stephen Jones. “We look forward to engaging our local community and our alumni, friends and family as we celebrate the past and build upon it to show how an Antioch education can make positive change both personally and professionally.”

From September 2014 through June 2015, AUNE plans to celebrate in many ways, including:

Creating a large timeline of the university that will be updated through the year and posted at the campus.

Bringing in additional speakers to help show how Antioch “has changed the world” over the past 50 years.

Pulling together friends of Antioch by decade to help plan out gatherings and celebrations including ones specific to the time period in which individuals engaged with AUNE.

Capturing an oral history on video of the 50 years through these events.

Launching a large-scale community service project with the City of Keene that will be formally unveiled in mid-October.

“We’ve packed a lot of history and firsts into our 50 years,” President Jones said. “I am particularly excited to capture this history from those who helped make it, via our timeline and through video. We have a great story to tell and hope that the many people who have engaged with us over the past half century will join us over the next nine months in celebration.”

An AUNE 50th Anniversary Committee, composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni and a past president, is planning a full slate of activities. The committee has begun efforts to develop lists of people from the five decades who are interested in volunteering and re-connecting. Interested individuals should call 283-2163 or email flinsky@antioch.edu and note which period they should be associated with between 1964 and 2014.